“And these are the words which he spake and caused to be written, saying: My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.”
Mosiah 2:9
I like the clarity here when he asks them to hearken to his words, mentioning that they should open their ears, and their hearts, and their minds. I think we very rarely listen quite that well, to our detriment.
Sometimes when we feel disconnected, we look for that magic combination that will ensure that we connect with God and can actually feel and understand what he has to say, and I think this actually might be it. The trick is that we really have to be listening in a lot of ways, totally there and open, and very often we close ourselves off in one or more ways, which blocks the still, small voice of the Spirit.
In order to hearken in all of these ways, we have to clear mental, emotional, and physical impediments to communication. This might require apologizing to someone when an argument is preoccupying our thoughts, mentally releasing a sin that we don’t want to let go of, or finding a physically less distracting place to pray. And then after the obstructions are gone, we still have to work on being open to something new. Sometimes we don’t want to listen to God not because of a sin or anything negative, but because he is asking us to do something that is hard for us, like moving to a new place or ending a relationship with an employer.
Today, as we pray and seek God’s guidance, let’s hearken with our ears, hearts, and minds, and be totally open to what God has to say. As we move towards that ideal, God’s messages will be able to get through our interference more and more clearly, and we will learn better and better how to tune in and feel the love of God and get his help in our lives.
Mosiah 2:9
I like the clarity here when he asks them to hearken to his words, mentioning that they should open their ears, and their hearts, and their minds. I think we very rarely listen quite that well, to our detriment.
Sometimes when we feel disconnected, we look for that magic combination that will ensure that we connect with God and can actually feel and understand what he has to say, and I think this actually might be it. The trick is that we really have to be listening in a lot of ways, totally there and open, and very often we close ourselves off in one or more ways, which blocks the still, small voice of the Spirit.
In order to hearken in all of these ways, we have to clear mental, emotional, and physical impediments to communication. This might require apologizing to someone when an argument is preoccupying our thoughts, mentally releasing a sin that we don’t want to let go of, or finding a physically less distracting place to pray. And then after the obstructions are gone, we still have to work on being open to something new. Sometimes we don’t want to listen to God not because of a sin or anything negative, but because he is asking us to do something that is hard for us, like moving to a new place or ending a relationship with an employer.
Today, as we pray and seek God’s guidance, let’s hearken with our ears, hearts, and minds, and be totally open to what God has to say. As we move towards that ideal, God’s messages will be able to get through our interference more and more clearly, and we will learn better and better how to tune in and feel the love of God and get his help in our lives.
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